Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tissue-stimulating prostheses.
Related Art
There are several types of implantable medical devices that operate by delivering electrical (current) stimulation to the nerves, muscle or other tissue fibers of a recipient. These medical devices, sometimes referred to herein as tissue-stimulating prostheses, typically deliver stimulation signals (current) to compensate for a deficiency in the recipient. For example, tissue-stimulating hearing prostheses, such as cochlear implants, are often proposed when a recipient experiences sensorineural hearing loss due to the absence or destruction of the cochlear hair cells, which transduce acoustic signals into nerve impulses. Auditory brainstem stimulators are another type of tissue-stimulating hearing prostheses that might be proposed when a recipient experiences sensorineural hearing loss due to damage to the auditory nerve.